Apparatus for applying pressure to shoe bottoms



Sept. 8, 1953 c. K. WOQDMAN 2,651,064

vAPPMRATUS FOR APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Filed June 16, 1951 4 'sheets-*sheet 1 Inventor Char-Zes T/Wnoaman Sept. 8, 1953 A c. K. woonMAN 2,651,064

- APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PRESSURE To SHOE BoTToMs Filed June 16, 1951 nven tor Sept. 8, 1953 c. K. wooDMAN 2,651,064

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PRESSURE To SHOE BOTToMs Filed June 16, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 SePt- 8, 1953 c. K. wooDMAN 2,651,064-

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PRESSURE To sRoE BoTToMs Filed June 16, 1951 4'SheetShS1e't 4 20 [nz/en tar "ZI-g Charles Woodman pivotal and sliding movement.

Patented Sept. 8, 1,953

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PRESSRE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Y Charles K. Woodman, Beverly, Mass., assigner to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 16, 1951, Serial No. 231,931l

This invention relates to apparatus for applying pressure to shoe bottoms and is illustrated as embodied in a pad box useful in-machines for performing such operations on shoes as sole laying, direct pressure leveling and cement sole attaching.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved supporting means for a shoe 'bottom-engaging pad which will readily conform to the longitudinal and transverse curvatures of a shoe bottom and will apply substantially uniform pressure over the entire marginal area of the yshoe bottom regardless of its size and contour.

To this end and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the shoe bottom-engaging pad p is supported by a plurality of transversely extending iiat springs which provide a substantially continuous supporting surface for the pad. Each of the springs is supported independently of the others in such manner that the springs are readily conformable to the different lateral curvatures of the shoe bottom along the length thereof.

As illustrated herein and in accordance with a further feature of the invention, the means for supporting each of the springs comprises a pair of downwardly extending crossed bars which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the ends of the associated spring and the lower ends of the bars are connetced by a tension spring, the lower ends of the bars being supported for By this arrangement, when pressure is applied through the pad to the springs the springs will conform to the transverse curvatures of the shoe bottom tending to collapse the crossed supporting bars but this collapse is resisted by the coil springs connecting the lower ends thereof. This resistance increases as the collapse of he bars increases, but at the same time the mechanical advantage of the crossed bars on the flat spring decreases at about the same rate as the spring tension increases, the result of which is that substantially uniform pressure is applied by the several flat springs to the shoe bot-tom irrespective of variations in the amount of depression of the at springs.

The above and other features of the invention, including various details of construction and novel combinations of parts will now be described by reference to the drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is an angular view of a pad box embodying the invention, a portion of the box being cut away to illustrate the pad supporting means;

Fig. 2 is an angular view on a larger scale illustrating a detail of the spring support;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the pad box illustrating the positions of the parts when no pressure isbeing applied;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the positions of the parts when pressure is being applied to a shoe on the pad;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the pad box, a portion of the side wall being broken away to illustrate the arrangement of the spring supports; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through the eener of the pad and of the supporting springs in pressure applying positions.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a pad box I 0 carried by a piston I2 of a huid-pressure-operated sole-laying machine which may be of the type illustrated and described in Letters Patent of the United States 2,459,845, granted January 25, 1949, on an application filed in the name of Thomas H. Seely et al. The machine includes toe and heel abutments I4, I6 for holding a lasted shoe against a pad I8 supported in the pad box, the pad box being forced upwardly in the operation of the machine to apply pressure to the bottom of the shoe.

The shoe bottom-engaging pad I8 comprises a layer of leather or other suitable material which is carried by a plurality of transversely extending flat springs 20 which are in sufliciently close relation to one another to provide a substantially continuous pad supporting surface. The ends of the springs 20 are provided with closed slots 22 (Fig. 2) to receive the upper ends of downwardly extending crossed bars 24 which are curved as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 and are in turn supported at their lower ends for pivotal and sliding movements by longitudinally extending rods 26 carried by the pad box I0. The bars 24 have downwardly extending portions 28 at their lower ends. The portions 28 of each pair of supporting bars 24 are interconnected by tension springs 30 which resist collapse of the bars 24 upon applying pressure through the pad I8 to the springs 20. Because of the proximity of the springs 20 and accordingly of the bars 24 the springs 30 connecting adjacent pairs of bars are in staggered heightwise positions as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. To insure proper spacing of the bars 24 to provide room for the springs 30 the bars have formed thereon projections 32 at their upper ends and projections 3-4 at their lower ends.

The side walls of the pad box I Il have horizontal extensions 36 at their upper ends which are engaged by the upper ends of the bars 24 as shown in Fig. 3 when no pressure is applied to the pad I8', thus limiting the upper position of the springs 20 under the forces exerted by the coil springs 30. As shown in Fig. 5, certain of the springs 20 intermediate the ends of the pad box are held in a higher position than the remainder of the springs to elevate the pad I8 thus accommodating the shank portionv of the shoe bottom to be operated upon. For this purpose the supporting bars 24 underlying the elevated springs 28 are somewhat longer than the other bars, and the side wall of the pad box extends up somewhat farther at this point as indicated at 38 to denne the uppermost position of the springs at this portion of the pad box.

In the operation of the machine a shoeis placed on the pad I8 under the heel and toe abutments I4, I6 and the pad box is lthen movedV upwardly to apply pressure to the shoe bottom. The flat springs will conform generally to the curvatures of the shoe bottom but will tend to bridge the central portion of the ioreparty of the shoe as the springs are forced downwardly as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. This downward move.- ment of the springs tends to collapse the bars 24 which collapse is opposed by the action of the tension springs 30 interconnecting their lower ends. As the bars are thus collapsed, .the mechanical advantage of the bars on the flat springs decreases while at the same time the tension of the springs 38 increases with the result that substantially uniform pressures are exerted throughout the marginal area of the shoe bottom and the pad readily conforms to the longitudinal and lateral curvatures of' theY shoe bottom.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as. new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms comprising a shoe bottom-engaging pad, a plurality of transversely extending flat springs. arranged to provide a substantially continuous surface for supporting said pad, individual supporting means for the ends of each of said springs, means mounting said supporting means for movements heightwise. and transversely of said pad, said means including fulcra located under opposite ends of the springs from the connections of the supporting means with the springs and means restricting movements of the individual supporting means.

2. Apparatus for use in applying pressure t shoe bottoms comprising a shoe bottom-engaging pad, a plurality of transversely extending nat springs arranged to provide a substantially continuous surface for supporting said pad, individual supporting means for each of said springs comprising a pair oi downwardly extending crossed bars the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to the ends of the associated spring. a tension spring connecting the lower ends of each pair of bars, and supporting means for the lower ends of the bars.

3. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe, bottoms comprising a shoe bottom-engagingpad.` a plurality of transversely extending flat springs arranged to provide a substantially continuous surface for Supporting said pad, indiv-idual supporting means for each of said springs comprising a pair of downwardly extending 5 crossed bars the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to the ends of the associated spring, a tension spring connecting the lower ends of each pair of bars, and means for supportingl thebars whereby pressure onv the` flat Springs will tend to collapse the bars, increasing the tension of the tensionv springs but decreasing the, mechanical advantage on the nat springs to maintain a substantially constant pressure on the shoe bottom.

- 4. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe. bottoms. comprising a shoe bottom-engaging pad, a plurality of transversely extending flat springs arranged to provide a substantially continuous surface for supporting said pad, indiv-idual supporting means for each oi said springs comprising a pair oi downwardly extending crossed bars the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to the. ends oi the associated spring, a. tension spring connecting the lower ends. of each pair of bars,l and means for supporting the lower ends of the bars for pivotal and sliding movements.v

Y CHARLES'K. WOODMAN.

lteerencesz Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 175,917 Briel etal Apr. 11, 1376 1,977,370 Allen Oct., 16, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 105,843, Switzerland Sept. 16, 192,4 2201610 Great Britain Oct. 30, 1924 3851.273 Germany Nov. 20, 1923 

